The present invention relates generally to patient assistance and rehabilitation device or more specifically a patient mechanical lift device that can be utilized as patient walker, a seat, a seated transporter, a toilet, a table and a rehabilitation device.
Caring for the aging, incapacitated or invalid persons is a problem inherent with being human, and as we continue to improve medicine and health care, people are living significantly longer, thus creating a greater need for caretakers and a support structure for people having diminished physical capacity. However, it is also human nature to desire to be independent and take care of one's own personal needs whenever possible. For a person with diminished physical capacity, performing simple tasks such as, getting out of bed, travelling across a room, exercising and getting to the restroom may become milestones, or acts of great achievement, that will validate that person and fill them with strong sense of accomplishment and self-worth.
Due to the universal nature of the problem, there are myriad devices designed to help people having diminished physical capacity, this includes, wheeled furniture that has been in use for centuries, to walker/lift devices that have developed in recent years. The more recent devices include an INVALID LIFT AND TRANSFER DEVICE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,502, filed Sep. 25, 1964 to Wauthier or the PATIENT ASSIST DEVICE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,947, filed May 14, 1990, to Ethridge. Each of these devices have features that may help a person having diminished physical capacity but each of these devices also has limitations; the device of Wauthier can be used to raise a person into a standing position but only with the assistance of a second person pushing down on a mechanical lever positioned on the side of the device opposite the patient. Whereas, the device of Ethridge will allow a patient with diminished physical capacity to rise to a standing position on their own, however, this is only accomplished using a complicated cable and pulley assembly powered by an electric motor.
What is needed is a device having a simple mechanism which will allow a person having diminished physical capacity to rise into a standing position without necessarily requiring an assistant and the device providing additional functionality that will help accommodate the user throughout the day.